George W. Bush Reacts to Donald Trump Winning Election
Former President George W. Bush has released his first statement on the 2024 presidential election, congratulating his fellow Republican, President-elect Donald Trump.
“I congratulate President Trump on his election as 47th President of the United States of America, as well as Vice President-elect JD Vance and their families,” he said in a statement released on Wednesday 11 a.m. ET.
Bush was notably absent from the Republican National Convention this summer, and also declined to endorse Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris before the results were known, despite Bush’s former running mate, Dick Cheney, endorsing Harris. Cheney’s daughter, Liz Cheney, also called for Bush to endorse Harris, while his own daughter, Barbara Bush, canvassed for Harris in Pennsylvania last month.
The Associated Press declared Trump the winner after he sealed Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes, pushing him past the 270-vote threshold needed, at 5:34 a.m. ET.
Bush, who since his presidency has been an active painter in Texas and produced a book called Portraits of Courage of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, also thanked Harris and President Biden for their service.
“Laura and I are grateful to the election officials, poll workers, and volunteers who oversaw a free and fair election,” he said. “We join our fellow citizens in praying for the success of our new leaders at all levels of government,” adding that the high turnout in the election is a sign of strength in American democracy.
He added: “We join our fellow citizens in praying for the success of our new leaders at all levels of government. May God continue to bless our great country.”
Kamala Harris has yet to publicly address her defeat, and is expected to deliver her concession speech at Howard University this afternoon at 4 p.m. ET.
Bush’s congratulatory message is one of many received by Donald Trump since his victory was declared.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated Trump over X, formerly Twitter, saying: “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!
“Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America,” he said.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also posted to X, saying: “Congratulations President-elect Trump on your historic election victory. I look forward to working with you in the years ahead.
“As the closest of allies, we stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of our shared values of freedom, democracy and enterprise. From growth and security to innovation and tech, I know that the UK-US special relationship will continue to prosper on both sides of the Atlantic for years to come.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy added to the congratulatory messages, saying: “I appreciate President Donald Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer.”
George W. Bush issues statement congratulating Trump
George W. Bush weighed in on the election results on Wednesday morning, congratulating Trump and thanking President Biden and VP Harris for their service.
“I congratulate President Trump on his election as 47th President of the United States of America, as well as Vice President-elect J.D. Vance and their families.
I also thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for their service to our country.
The strong turnout in this election is a sign of the health of our republic and the strength of our democratic institutions. Laura and I are grateful to the election officials, poll workers, and volunteers who oversaw a free, fair, safe, and secure election.”
Trump adviser says Trump and Harris have not connected yet as of earlier this morning
Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have allegedly not connected yet as of early this morning, Trump’s senior adviser Jason Miller said on ABC News’ Good Morning America.
“As of the last time I spoke with President Trump, they had not connected, but we’ll see what happens today,” Miller said, going on to stress the message of unity.
“I think what President Trump said last night when he’s up there on the stage was that he wants to heal the country. This is the time when we put aside the political divisions. We bring Democrats, Republicans, people who aren’t necessarily even involved with politics together,” Miller said.
President Bush, Put Country Over Party and Endorse Kamala Harris
“Country over party,” has been the call to arms for a subset of Republicans alarmed by the takeover of the GOP by former President Donald Trump, now a convicted felon, and the unscrupulous and cynical yes-men and yes-women who have backed his candidacy, no matter what outrageous lies he tells voters or threats he poses to our country.
Let’s put the political shoe on the other foot for a moment and ask: What would Democrats do if their presidential nominee were a corrupt, convicted felon facing multiple indictments, who was dismissive of the rule of law, had urged his supporters to march on the Capitol to protest his loss of a free and fair election, and who constantly put himself ahead of the country and our democracy?
In this far-fetched hypothetical, let’s imagine if, say, former Sen. Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat convicted of bribery and obstruction of justice, were the party’s presidential nominee, facing off against, let’s say, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley or New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Fearing more conservative Supreme Court appointments, more economic policies that favor the wealthy or a more bellicose foreign policy, some Democrats might hold their noses and vote for Menendez, or cast a protest write-in ballot for some other Democrat.
But Democrats with a conscience and an appreciation of the importance of character and integrity in the White House would likely vote for the Republican and try to repair policy mistakes later.
That’s what many country-over-party Republicans are doing now. They recognize the existential threat to Americans from a ruthless, aging authoritarian and are standing up to him by announcing loudly that they are voting for – and, in some cases, even campaigning for – a Democrat with whom they may have major policy disagreements.
These GOP Harris supporters include Liz Cheney, who served as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, and her father, Dick Cheney, the two-time Republican vice president; former Secretaries of Defense Bill Cohen and Chuck Hagel; former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales who served George W. Bush; former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham; former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger; former U.S. Court of Appeals Judge J. Michael Luttig; former CIA and FBI Director William Webster; and Christine Todd Whitman, a former Republican governor of New Jersey who was also a cabinet member.
But other prominent Republicans and former military leaders who privately or publicly admit that they see Trump as a threat to the U.S. and our democracy have failed to step up. They have three weeks to rise to the occasion and do what is right for America.
Let’s start with former President George W. Bush, who we know is contemptuous of Trump. The explanation given by those close to him for his silence is that he’s a lifelong Republican who wants to have a voice in the post-Trump party and doesn’t want to hurt the political prospects of younger Bush family members in a party that is currently controlled by a vengeful Trump.
Bush should know better. Unless and until Trump is decisively rejected by his party in this election, the Bushes will remain personas non grata in Trump’s party. The former president wasn’t even welcome at the GOP convention in July.
The former president’s nephew, George P. Bush, was Texas Land Commissioner and had “up and coming” political leader practically tattooed on his forehead. He challenged Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who had been criminally charged for securities fraud and was separately accused of bribery by four of his top aides. Yet Trump endorsed Paxton, who won in a landslide.
There is no modern example of a former president not endorsing the candidate from his own party apart from Bush, who did not endorse Trump in 2016, 2020 or now. But he has failed to endorse his Democratic opponents either. (His father, the late President George H.W. Bush, confirmed he voted for Hillary Clinton against Trump in 2016.)
The question for George W. Bush and for his brother, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, and others, including Jim Baker, a former Secretary of State and GOP powerbroker going back to the Ronald Reagan era, is what is more important to them now: country or party? They reportedly abhor Trump’s contempt for the rule of law and democracy, so why haven’t they spoken up?
They may disagree with many of Harris’ views and policies, but unlike her rival, she’s not an existential danger to American democracy, and responsible Republicans know that.
This is a binary choice – either Harris or Trump will be our next president. Writing in someone else, as some Republicans such as former House Speaker Paul Ryan, have said they will do, is a cop-out. John Pitney, a Reagan conservative, long active in Republican and academic circles, did that in 2016 and told me he regrets it: “If you abstain or vote for someone other than Kamala Harris, you effectively vote for Trump.”
The other critical group who should speak up for what’s best for the nation is retired military leaders who command widespread, cross-partisan respect. Some 740 former military, national security and foreign policy leaders – many of whom served in Republican administrations – endorsed Harris in a joint statement last month. Some, including former Army Major Gen. Randy Manner, have written on this page about why they will be voting for her.
But two whose voices carry outsized weight have not – James Mattis, the retired four-star Marine general who served as Trump’s secretary of defense, and John Kelly, a retired Marine general who was Trump’s chief of staff and secretary of homeland security.
Both Mattis and Kelly have issued vehement, on-the-record warnings about the dangers that Trump poses to national security and have complained about his disdain for fallen soldiers. Yet neither has endorsed Harris.
If they are worried about retired generals making partisan endorsements, that’s more an excuse than a real barrier to speaking up for what is best for the nation. David Shoup, a Medal of Honor recipient who served as commandant of the Marine Corps, became a vehement critic of President Lyndon Johnson and the Vietnam War after he retired.
Retired Admiral Steve Abbot, who was a Homeland Security adviser to President George W. Bush, said he endorsed Harris because Trump “poses a significant risk to the American people and our democracy.”
If former President Bush, Mattis, Kelly and others believe this election is an ordinary contest between two ordinary candidates, then their silence is justified.
But if they share the fears about a second Trump presidency that the Cheneys and so many prominent Republicans and former national security leaders have articulated, then as leaders and role models, their silence is unacceptable – and puts our nation at risk.